✔️Heal My Heart {Kakashi Hatake}

71 | the uchiha watch

I trudged up the watchtower steps, bleary eyed and trying desperately to say awake. All ANBU were required to take 'Uchiha Watch', as it had been dubbed, but it was two in the freaking morning and whoever signed me up for this shift was going to get it right up the--

"Finally made it, Miyoshi," Kakashi greeted me, standing up to relinquish his spot by one of the binoculars. There were three others, each facing a different compass point. I recognised Yūgao on South, though I didn't recognise the ANBU at East and North. They didn't look like part of Team Ro. "You know, I thought you'd at least have better timing than me."

"Not at two in the morning I don't," I muttered. "Of course it was you who put me up to this."

"Yūgao was supposed to be your shift partner, but she was actually on time, so Itachi got to go home and sleep," Kakashi said pointedly.

"I make no apologies for keeping you here," I said. "That's just what you get for waking me up at this ungodly hour. Tomorrow, I'm going to smash your bedroom window and wake you up at two in the morning then run away without a word. See how you like it."

"I didn't smash your window. I didn't leave the tower at all during my shift."

"No, but you snuck in while I was out with Kurenai and set an alarm. That's just as bad."

"I did warn you."

"I couldn't be bothered to read the note."

"Then how did you know to be here?"

"You literally told me yesterday, now shift so I can actually sit down, I'm going to collapse any second."

"'Thank you for covering me, Kakashi, thank you for waking me up, Kakashi.' You're welcome, Miyoshi," Kakashi simulated an imaginary conversation.

"Am I really, though? Am I really welcome to be woken at two in the morning and left to drag my tired ass up a tower?" I questioned. "I had to use the stairs because I couldn't summon the energy to use chakra."

Kakashi sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, a sign I had come to interpret as 'fine you win'. Sometimes being the woman of a relationship had its benefits. "You can have the day off tomorrow."

"Now you're talking," I smirked. "Shoo, get some sleep. Otherwise you'll need the day off tomorrow."

"Oh, now you're concerned about my wellbeing," Kakashi muttered, heading for the stairs. "Only now I've offered you time off."

I heard his footsteps receding down the steps.

"You know, if we weren't in a professional situation, I'd ask if you two are dating yet," Yūgao said out of the blue.

"And I've never given a damn about professional environments, so I'll answer your question and say yes, actually, we are," I replied. "We decided one day that we should save everyone the trouble of asking and just say, 'yeah we're dating'. I mean, we haven't technically gone on a date yet, we've both been too busy."

"Understandable," Yūgao replied. I couldn't see her, because I'm not such a terrible person that I wouldn't be doing my job. Although, it wasn't much of a job; the whole Uchiha compound was completely still, since they were all asleep, and I didn't know why we needed to observe them anyway. We'd all been fed the same story by Danzō that they'd been responsible for the nine tails attack, but I thought that was a load of bull. Nobody was responsible, it was bound to happen. Kushina would have been incredibly weak giving birth so it was no wonder the beast was able to break out. That day, I'd been kept back in the hospital to tend to the wounded. I'd only been thirteen, but there were so many injuries - and just as many casualties - that they'd been desperate for every available medic, regardless of age and rank.

I slumped against the binoculars. Nothing was moving, and nothing was going to move this early in the morning. You'd have to be either insane, or an insomniac - perhaps both - to be awake at this time. This whole watch was pointless. The other two ANBU were taking their job way too seriously, and seemed to have tuned out completely from the world. I'd never seen either of them in my life. They hadn't even made any signs of hearing the conversation earlier; it was a little creepy.

The entire four-hour shift was boring. Nothing happened, and by the time I trudged home it was already light outside. I predicted that in about two hours, Naruto would come bursting into my house and demand that I teach him some incredible jutsu. It usually ended in Taijutsu practice or a trip to Ichiraku's. The truth was, I could have taught him any jutsu I wanted, and I knew that his chakra stores were enough to handle pretty much anything. I just didn't want him to parade around that he knew a strong jutsu, or even worse, use it against his classmates. For the same reasons, I didn't want him to learn anything he hadn't already been taught at the Academy, so all we ever did was sit and talk through written work until Naruto got bored.

Reaching my house, I pushed open the door and immediately staggered into the sitting room and slumped over on the sofa. I did not have the energy to go all the way up to my room. This, though, was comfortable enough for me to drift off.

I couldn't have said how long it took, but predictably, Naruto came bursting through the door, yelling, "Miyoshi! Miyoshi!"

"What now, Naruto?" I mumbled when he finally discovered where I was curled up between the cushions.

"I need you to teach me a new jutsu, right now!" he declared.

"You know I can't." I sighed, sitting up properly. "We've talked about this."

"Yeah, but if I don't have any cool jutsu, then Sasuke's gonna be better than me forever!" he wailed.

"Sasuke?" I raised my eyebrows. "As in, Sasuke Uchiha?"

"Man, not you too!" Naruto complained. "Everyone's always, Sasuke this, Sasuke that; it drives me insane!"

"It's okay, bud." I ruffled his hair. "You'll always be my favourite. I know Sasuke's older brother is all."

"So can you teach me a cool jutsu?" Naruto pushed. "Please, big sis?"

"What if I told you I didn't know any cool ones?"

"Then you'd be a liar," Naruto said bluntly. "I've seen you sparring with your boyfriend."

"Ah. I can't get out of this, can I?" I sighed. "Okay. But we have to do some stuff first, some special exercises, before you'll be able to use it."

"Alright, I'm ready, believe it!"